//------------------------------// // Seven // Story: Under The Northern Lights // by CoastalSarv //------------------------------// An alicorn's mind is in many ways different from a regular pony's, and in some ways superior. One way in which it shows its superiority is the acuteness of short-term memory. Of course, sometimes this can be a curse. Such as when you have acted like an immature foal the evening before, and don't want to repeat the conversation in your head over and over again. Luna couldn't stand it any longer. She went out the corridor and found a large window, stepped through the glass (without breaking it, of course - the trick is to make it think you are moonlight) and rose up into the sky.   First, she flew over the forests of Tarandroland, made much less dark than the season mandated by a thin powder-cover of snow, glittering like diamonds in the light of the moon (raised by her sister, of course). While she had flown high over the world and hence the land of the reindeer since she gained her freedom, she had never been this close, this able to truly see. She called out to her many pages and maids in the forest below. Of course many of them - the bat, the shrew, the night-moth and the spider - were now sleeping, hibernating, or dead, but others weren't. The wolves howled, the crows and ravens woke on their roosts and cawed groggily, and the owls hooted their praises. Some of the latter, big ones and small ones, singles and couples, rose on silent wings and swirled around their mistress; they didn't judge or question. Then, she left the owls behind despite their whistled protests and rose higher and higher above the flat disc of the world, so high in the atmosphere that the bats and birds and pegasi would pass out, and rose into the Northern Lights. She went flying through the many-colored aurora, breathing the light and power, her energy renewed by the glittering veils of power, her ancient memories refreshed. Her good memories. She danced in the light and darkness and forgot the woes of earthly existence. Then, first then, she landed back on Earth, back in Castle Muorra, and almost straight on Twilight Sparkle. Her hoofmaiden lay not across the threshold like servants of old, but right inside the window, and the Queen of Night actually stumbled, fell and woke her. At least I didn't step on her, she thought as she lay in a pool of her own embarrassment. Twilight rose up, failed to stifle a yawn, and rubbed her eyes with her hoof. "I woke up and you were gone, Your Highness... I... didn't know where, but I thought I'd wait..." she said, blinking with sad eyes that filled Luna with guilt. She didn't know whether she was looking at a devoted servant worried about her mistress, or at a foal terrified it had lost its mother. "Oh, Lady Sparkle, a thousand apologies!" Luna shouted and nuzzled the young unicorn. "I just needed the sky... I needed the sky and should have told you." "S'Okay. Didn't sleep much," mumbled Twilight and hugged her mistress. "There is breakfast, if it will wake you too," said Spike, who poked out his head from the bedroom. "It is yummy, actually. No lichen in sight." "Good!" mumbled Twilight as she rose from the blankets she had dragged out to sleep on. "I am such a grouchy evil sorceress if I don't get my black lotus tea and spider-legs and still-beating virgin hearts in the morning!" she said angrily. "Food sounds good! Thanks, Spike!" said Luna and actually supported Twilight as they both shuffled into their room.   "This," said Spike as he demonstrated, "is both a bread and a cereal. It is, strangely enough, not made from lichen but from sedge." He crushed the thin bread and spread it into his bowl, which, having been used, showed this was his second helping. "Reindeer use their mouths to crack it; you are free to use your fancy magic, as I use my paws. And this thing that looks like phlegm," he showed them a silver pitcher, "is actually some kind of yogurt and perfectly tasty." He poured it over the cracked bread. "I am sure you already know what jam is," and he pointed to a series of silver jars, "but just so you know: blueberry, cloudberry, lingonberry, crowberry, and something called 'nagoonberry', which according to the Prince is sort of the alicorn of berries, which is so awesome it heals wounds, frees the slaves, and causes deer to murder for it - and I tasted it and Vigg was right; you don't get any, it's all mine!" He slathered on some of the purplish jam on his cereal. "You know, the kind of food you would think would be served at a king's table, instead of boiled lichen with lichen sauce and lichen salad?" he said.   He picked up a porcelain jug and another silver pitcher. "There is a really bad tea I don't recommend, but this coffee is brewed the reindeer way, which is apparently the same as the Appleloosan way: if your shoe doesn't float, you need more coffee," he continued. He poured himself some.  "It is excellent, but you won't sleep until next year," he said as he tasted it. "Oh, and the average reindeer drinks about fifteen gallons of this a day, and our dreaded host mixes his with vodka, half-and-half. No wonder he's a prat!" The others looked at him. "Now, can you serve yourselves or should I?" he said. "You need to eat and drink, girls!" Slowly, they began helping themselves to the food.   "This is more than edible!" sighed Luna. "And your new friend the prince were right about the jam. It is divine, and I should know." "Didn't I tell you it was all mine?" Spike mock-growled. "Speaking of Vigg, he sent me a letter. If it's OK I'll join him at the ski slope today." "You don't ski," said Twilight matter-of-factually. "Who said I would? Vigg is the sportsbuck," Spike countered. "Though I might slide down it anyway - we can borrow a sled from the castle. Sledding is fun!" "Go, Spike," said Luna. "You're the only one who made any friends so far. I say you should cultivate them." "What are we doing today, then, Your Highness?" wondered Twilight. Luna sighed deeply. "I had hoped I would be having talks with the reindeer, but now I have to resist just flying home and admitting defeat" she said and sniffed her coffee. "This is strong! The whole country must be drugged!" "Paki told me yesterday that they cannot afford to buy it anymore" said Twilight who had opted for the admittedly bad tea instead. The others looked at her. "The zebra consul," she explained. "He is a coffee trader, and has some odd phobia about magic. It doesn't make sense, it's not like that reindeer magic is really... present." She looked around the room. "If we do nothing else, I'd like to, erh, read our room and figure out more about those reindeer runes, Your Highness. And I think I made a friend as well in him. Maybe he knows more about why the reindeer are in so bad straits as it seems." There was a knock at the door. Spike got up and opened the door with a huge segdebread jam sandwich in his mouth. "Muuuumfh!" he said, swallowed it all in one go and then: "Luna! There are some dudes here to see you!"   The dudes turned out to be a gaggle of aristocrats, of both genders but all unicorns – the usual suspects. Their eyes and faces had a rather peculiar expression, where anger and resentment seethed but as soon as Luna's eyes met theirs the expression changed to deepest fear. They hemmed, hahed and introduced themselves politely, and then percolated back and forth until they spit out the smallest diplomat and nudged him to actually say something. Luna looked at him quizzically. ”What do you want, Lord Soandso? Spit it out!” she said, though less unkindly than the words indicated. ”Lord What?” he said confused. ”Never mind," she said. "You came here for a reason, I suppose.” He swallowed, shut his eyes, opened them, and started to speak. ”Your Highness, we feel, nay, I feel, after the unlucky occurrences – I mean, after the fiasco yesterday, the complete fiasco, that it would be best for the dialogue – I mean, essential for the dialogue – I mean, it would make the dialogue, the dialogue with the reindeer completely impossible if Your Highness was present. I mean, after yesterday's horrible fiasco... how could Your Highness?!” He has actually worked himself up into anger. ”How could Your Highness be so foalish and stupid as to do that, to completely wreck an already bad situation, endangering our work and the security of Equestria, it's – it’s unforgivable!” At the end, he shouted. Then, realizing what he just had said to who, he shut his eyes, cowered and whined ”Please spare my family!” Luna looked at him, then at the shivering, teeth-chattering committee and sighed. ”You are absolutely right," she said. "It was immensely stupid of me, and I am sorry for the trouble I caused you. I swear I will bother the king and his courtiers no more. But please, keep me informed of everything that happens. If possible, I would like to be present at your meetings before actual diplomacy,” Luna said, doing her best to look the cowering little unicorn in the eyes. He slowly inflated back to normal size. ”O-of course, Your Highness!" he said. "We will do what we can! Thank you for understanding our situation!” They bowed and curtseyed and murmured thanks and made to leave, when Luna called out for them. ”You there, small but brave: what is your name, really?” she said. The little unicorn stopped, confused. ”I am Oak Wreath, Your Highness,” he said. Luna nodded. ”I must remember your names, Oak Wreath. I must remember your names,” she said, and with that the diplomats left. Twilight looked sympathetically at Luna, and the Princess of the Moon suddenly felt her hoof rubbed magically – as when you want to show affection and nudge hoof to hoof. She smiled back to Twilight. A second knock at the door, and a reindeer lackey delivered a letter to Her Highness, who instructed her hoofmaiden to collect it. He looked nervously at Twilight, who noticed the look and sighed. He left rather quickly after that. Twilight opened it. ”Your Highness, it is an invitation from the Temple of Skinfaxi," she said. "They want you to come, 'when you are able', to see their temple and pass on a gift to Skinfaxi – I mean Princess Celestia.” Twilight looked at Luna. ”While the concept weirds me out, I am sure they mean well. And we have nothing else to do today. I will honor them with my presence,” Luna declared. ”Get a hold of that lackey and send them a letter in return.” Twilight left. ”I hope Celestia's gift is a big big jar of that jam!” Spike said and showed the wished-for girth of said theoretical jar with his hands. ”If I know the cults right, it is probably some horrible piece of art. Though there is a llama nation which sends Tia excellent cocoa beans each year,” Luna mused. Spike bit his tongue and stopped himself asking what they sent Luna. Spike was in the bathroom when Twilight came back. She had found the reindeer without much ado, though she was now assured everyone stared at her, everyone feared her, everyone judged her for things she had never done. She was about to share her worries with Luna (who ought to know something about how to deal with that problem) when there was a third knock on the door. It was Prince Vigg. ”Hi!” he said, and then he stared a bit at Twilight. ”Hi!” he said again. ”I, uh, was to meet Spike. The dragonling. We are going skiing.” Then he caught himself and added ”Oh sorry, I'm, uh, Vigg. Prince Vigg. We did meet... but it wasn't a good time. You know,” and he waved a big, broad ski he had strapped to his back around a bit and smacked into the door. ”Welcome, Your Highness,” said Twilight and bowed close to the floor. Then she stood up. ”Should I announce his presence or something, Your Highness?” Luna sighed and shook her head. ”I can see him quite clearly, Lady Sparkle. I don't think this calls for court protocol,” she said, and walked up to the young reindeer and laid her neck against his. ”Welcome, young prince. You are wiser than many else in this kingdom.” A little awkwardly, Vigg greeted her back. ”Thanks, Our Lady of the Night. Uh. Can I skip the Your Highness thing, Your Highness? Because if use titles to each other it becomes so awkward after a while?” he said, and gestured with the lone ski again. Luna chuckled. ”We are of equal rank, according to international protocol, so why not? You are a Prince, I am a Princess,” she said. He looked unamused. ”You are a ruling Princess of the world's greatest nation, I am like this completely theoretical heir of a small podunk island. Also, I don't raise the Moon. I have trouble enough raising myself in the morning. Cosmic powers gotta count in the title-game,” he explained. ”Just call me Luna,” she said and smiled. ”This is my hoofmaiden, Lady Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight bowed deeply. ”If you cannot get a hold of me, young Vigg, you can confer with her – we share everything!” ”Pleased to meet you, Your Highness,” Twilight said and bowed again. Vigg looked at her, a little too long at that, and cleared his throat. ”That Twilight Sparkle?” he wondered. Twilight's face darkened. ”Yeah, I assume you heard it too – Skinfaxi's Shadow, evil sorceress, yadda yadda...” she muttered. ”Oh? That? Well,” - and he scratched himself awkwardly, - ”first, you look different” he said. ”Different?” Twilight said, confused. ”Well... Younger, I mean. Also, it is the press, you know. They are like your natural enemy when you're royalty, because no matter whether they say bad or good things about you, they always lie. So, I mean, I wouldn't trust them that much,” he finished and smiled. ”Well, thanks,” Twilight said. ”So you're not afraid of me?” He shrugged and looked at her – again, a little too long, but then he turned to look at Luna instead. ”No. I'm not,” he said. There was another pause. ”Spike is cleaning himself up,” said Twilight to change the subject. ”He should be ready soon.” ”Great! I brought sandwiches and cocoa, and he can borrow a sleigh here at the castle. The weather should be perfect,” said Vigg smiling. ”My skiing experienced is limited, and much has happened in the centuries since I visited your country, Vigg, but I am sure you usually have two skis,” said Luna and pointed to the tool of his trade. ”Oh?" he said. "Yeah, but see, since you were here – oh frost on my tail, you were here thousand years ago?! Never mind, since you were, you know old-fashioned reindeer skis, unlike modern ones, had one broad and one slim, right?” Luna nodded. Twilight showed her usual mood by actually looking for one of her notebooks. ”One you travel on, one to kick with to gain speed," he explained. "Now, you still use them for cross-travel up on the tundra, but you use more normal ones for modern competitions – including downhill, see?” His audience nodded. ”Well, some of us – us skiers – used old-fashioned skis downhill, like for a joke, to make it harder see?" he said. "So we came up with just using the big broad one, and not just trying to go as fast as possible, but to pass obstacles and make tricks and try to jump as far as we can. It's not like a real sport yet, but it is fun. I am trying to get better, and while it is even more fun up in the mountains, there is this ski hill outside Sarvis – Sarvvik – that is really good!” He realized he was gushing and blushed, sending Twilight a worried gaze. ”And also, at that place they usually don't recognize me, they just think I am this fawn, you know? So, as I said, press, but no problem,” he finished. ”Some of my friends might be there, but they are cool – otherwise they wouldn't be like my friends, y'know?” ”What friends do you have?” asked Luna. ”I know myself a high position sometimes makes it hard making real friends.” ”Well, they are just these guys, you know?" he said. "Mostly, mostly they are grazers whose parents moved down here, and they like skiing, and hiking, and sometimes living like it was up north out in the forest, instead of in town.” And getting away from that hated press, and the politicians, and your troubled family, Luna thought. I guess those journalists you hate would get lost in the forests... Twilight started asking questions about the manufacturing of skis, for reasons Luna couldn't comprehend at first, and Vigg answered amiably – though he had made his himself, and expressed disgust with factory-made skis. It was then that Luna realized Twilight was fishing for information about reindeer magic, wondering whether it could be a passive talent like earth ponies and their ties to the Land – if reindeer were simply better at working wood than they should be. Luna smiled. Twilight's hunger was sometimes very intense, though at least the kid didn't mind talking varnish with a foreign adult. Spike came out about then, and since his patience for varnish was limited, he suggested they leave. ”Oh Spike, you make me a little worried with this trip!” said Twilight. ”Please don't break your legs or something!” Spike tried to communicate telepathically with the older kid to not say the words, but failed; Vigg insisted that he'd look after Spike, who groaned. ”You don't want to come?” Vigg asked the Princess and her hoofmaiden. Twilight looked a little eager, but Luna shook her head. ”We have an appointment with the Temple of Skinfaxi,” she said. ”But I thank you for your offer, young Vigg.” ”Well... that's actually in our direction. Say, we can follow you on the way, and I can show you where,”, said Vigg. ”Isn't the temple the big golden building?” Spike asked grouchily. ”Isn't that easy to find?” ”Well, it's not like you can fly there... except when you can,” Vigg said at Luna's chuckle and fluttering her wings. ”Well, it sounds like a good idea,” said Luna. ”Let me just become presentable. Hoofmaiden – attend to me!” Spike groaned as Twilight got busy with Luna's mane and hooves. ”Why did you suggest that?” he whispered to Vigg. ”Now we have to wait for them for hours and hours.” ”I don't really mind,” said Vigg happily. The Temple of Skinfaxi was really beautiful, though they could only see the greenhouse, not the large outdoor flower garden, on account of it being early winter. The collection of reindeer in outfits in white and gold that served it were polite. The gift to Celestia was an absolutely awful glass sculpture. It ended up in Twilight's magic, levitating over her, since it obviously didn't fit in her saddlebags and Luna shouldn't carry it for princessy reasons. The Princess and her hoofmaiden were walking down the long path through the garden towards the gates, talking quietly among themselves. “It's hideous!” chuckled Luna. “I know I don't get modern art, but this has to be bad for modern ponies as well!” “Please don't tell me you are happy with it being this awful because it is Princess Celestia's present and not yours...” Twilight was straining a little with the glass formation. “Oh, it might turn out well,” mused Luna. “Like with the mountain Canterlot is on. It was an unwanted gift too, you see?” “What?” said Twilight confused. “Who gives away mountains?” “Oh, it was long ago at the dawn of time," Luna said. "Someone... we can describe him as an uncle to Tia and me, he gave us that mountain. He was the one who made the mountains of the world, see, so he was of course a bit obsessed with mountains. And Tia said it didn't fit any landscape we had, and I suggested that we put it in the Underworld and just bring it out when he was visiting, and then...” The anecdote was interrupted by a commotion at the gates they were fast approaching. “I DEMAND to see Our Lady of the Moon!” shouted an old, shrill voice. “Lady, the temple is off-limits to laydeer today because Hrimfaxi herself is visiting. It is not very pious, running around bothering deities like that,” said what must be one of the traditionally bored temple guards. “But I am no laydeer! I am the Chief Priestess at the Temple of Hrimfaxi!” shouted the old voice again, and Luna's ancient ears suddenly perked up. “Lady, I mean, Your Grace, you know that means you cannot enter at all, ever,” said another guard. “Why can't we get into the Temple of Skinfaxi?!” shouted a smaller, higher-pitched, angrier voice. “That is discriminatory!” “Young lady, we can't get into your Temple either! Those are the rules, and we didn't make them,” groaned the first guard. “Now please calm down, both of you!” Luna and Twilight weren't automatically noted by the guards when they stepped through the gates, but they were noticed by the source of the angry voices: an old vaja swaying on arthritic legs and a second, very young one, like Vigg on her first set of antlers. The young one saw them first, made a little squeak of joy and then prostrated herself on the ground. Her older colleague followed suit. The temple guards caught on about then and bowed before the Princess and her hoofmaiden with more dignity. “All Hail Our Lady of the Moon!” the prostrated vajas chanted in unison. “All Glory to the Goddess of Dusk, the Ruler of the Night Court...” Twilight looked at the two reindeer with a certain apprehension. Luna groaned and shut her eyes... “All Hail the Nightmare Moon!” Luna's eyes opened. They were full of green fire, and her mane shifted like a cold wind from outer space. She steadied herself. She shut her eyes, opened them to a normal pony gaze, and her mane returned to normal. “Come, Lady Sparkle. Let's return to the Palace,” And she began to move away. The older reindeer gasped and stumbled up, following Luna, plucking at her tail. “Mistress! Goddess! We merely wish that you grace our humble temple with your divine being...” she babbled, her voice quivering. Her younger colleague also rose and gaped as she started at Luna. Luna turned abruptly and hissed at the old priestess. “Listen!" she said. "I don't want your temple, I don't want your worship, and I don't want you! Go before I cause you harm!” The old vaja slumped to the ground and babbled excuses, but the younger reindeer stood straight up, her eyes gleaming like stars of anger, an effect enhanced by her garish eye makeup, which was a broad black band painted across her face like a bandit's mask. She held the sobbing old priestess to her. “But she was supposed to understand...” the old reindeer cried. “Don't worry Grammy. We can do without her. She is just like all the other ones: she only cares about herself. She doesn't care about her followers. She doesn't care about you. She doesn't care about me!” Hot tears dribbled through her black makeup and made river down her cheeks, but her gaze met Luna's straight on and didn't waiver. Luna, looking back at her, remembering things useful to remember, turned to Twilight. “Change of plans, Lady Sparkle," she said. "We will visit my temple, a duty I have neglected. I want to thank you for reminding me, my faithful priestess. What is your name?” The young vaja just gaped, and her until now so steady, angry voice was changed into a stammer. “Me? Uhm, oh, my Goddess, I am just a temple-fawn, not a priestess yet. And my name is Saga, Oh Goddess.” Art by the talented Adalbertus - thanks ever so much! Thanks also to krdragon for proofreading help!